


St David's Day

by CelestialWolf72



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Comfort, Established Relationship, Fluff, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, M/M, Minor Character Death, Remus Lupin Needs a Hug, Welsh Remus Lupin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-15 11:08:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29807502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CelestialWolf72/pseuds/CelestialWolf72
Summary: Remus always celebrated St David's Day with his mum; she had loved it and it had become a day that was special for both of them. Now Remus was facing his first one without her and he wasn't ready to let her go.
Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 4
Kudos: 29





	St David's Day

**Author's Note:**

> WARNING: descriptions of the death of a parent. It's not too bad, but this fic is about Remus struggling with losing his mother and remembering her on a day that was special to them. If you think this might be triggering for you or at all difficult then please don't read! Look after yourselves. 
> 
> I promise this isn't as unhappy as it sounds; there is fluff in the form of Sirius wanting to take care of his boyfriend and Remus realising he's not alone.  
> This wasn't what I intended for this fic at all I honestly don't know what happened! It's not the kind of thing I usually write but hopefully it's not too bad!

Remus was curled up in the corner of the common room, trying to focus on the textbook in front of him but the words looked all blurred on the page. They only had a few months left until their final exams at Hogwarts and he really needed to study, but it was impossible today. He couldn't focus on anything other than what day it was and the deep ache in his chest that had been present ever since his mother passed away.

It had been about two months now and he was learning to cope, but sometimes it felt like the pain wasn't ever going to go away. His mother had been the only person he'd had throughout his childhood, the only person who had ever loved him unconditionally. His father had walked out not long after Remus was bitten, unable to cope with the idea of having a dark creature for a son. Hope Lupin was not so quick to give up on him. She was a muggle, but had known enough about the magical world to know that Remus would be ostracised if anyone knew of his condition and so had maybe been a little overprotective. She had learned to manage and cope with the monthly transformations all on her own, no magic to help her. It broke Remus' heart every time he had to think of his mother chaining her four year old son to the wall in their cellar and locking him in for the whole night, Remus cries and screams of pain echoing through the house.

His mother was the strongest person Remus had ever known and he couldn't see how he was supposed to go on without her.

Running a hand over his eyes, he finally gave up on working and closed the textbook with a snap, tossing it on the table in front of him and closing his eyes. He leaned his head back into the soft cushions of the armchair and let his mind drift to his mother.

It wasn't a surprise that the pain of her loss was worse today. It was St David's Day; arguably Hope's favourite day of the year. Growing up in a small village not far from Cardiff, St David's Day had always been a big deal. Daffodils were everywhere; decorating the fronts of shops and the small village green in front of the local church. It was a day for family and celebration and celebrating your heritage. Remus' mother had always loved it and would do everything possible to get the day off work. She would bake dozens of welsh cakes and take Remus to see her favourite sights around Cardiff, particularly Castell Coch which she had often visited when she was young. Remus had loved exploring the old remains, the stone walls feeling creepy and exciting all at once. Hours spent running around and exploring every nook and cranny with his mum.

Remus took a deep breath, trying to focus on his breathing and not get overwhelmed. He stroked over the muggle tattoo on his wrist to try to calm down; the two daffodils he'd gotten to honour his mother a few weeks after she died. It wasn't working, he needed to get to the dorm and be on his own. He didn't know where the other Marauders were but he knew they would give him space today when he needed it.

Pushing himself up from the chair he strode quickly across the room, ignoring the look of concern Lily was giving him from her place by the fire. Pulling open the door to the boys' dormitories he took the stairs two at a time and pushed the door of the seventh year's dorm open, slamming it shut and leaning his head against it, trying to breathe through the rising feeling of grief pounding through his body.

"Re?"

He spun around at the sound of the soft voice to see Sirius stood by Remus' bed looking at him with a concerned expression.

"S-sorry I - what are you doing?" Remus said, blinking away the wetness in his eyes as he processed the room in front of him.

It was covered in daffodils.

They were everywhere; neatly arranged in vases on the window ledge, the bedside tables and even the tops of their closed trunks. They were carefully placed at the foot of Remus' bed and Sirius was still holding a bunch in his hand as he moved closer to Remus slowly, as if trying not to spook him.

"I - it was meant to be a surprise." Sirius said and his face flushed a light pink.

"Daffodils?"

"It's St David's Day." Sirius said softly. "There's not a lot about it in the library but I found as much as I could...and I talked to that Welsh kid on the Hufflepuff quidditch team who's Muggle born and she told me that daffodils are the national flower of Wales and-"

Sirius' babbling was cut off when Remus strode across the room and hugged him tightly, crushing the flowers between them. Sirius' arms immediately came up to circle Remus' waist and hold him close.

Remus pulled back, tears welling in his eyes without his permission and he cleared his throat, trying to pull himself together.

"I can't believe you did this." Remus mumbled.

"Of course I did." Sirius said, fingers coming up to gently cup Remus' jaw. "I know this day was special for you and your mum and I wanted to make sure you could still have that."

Remus bit his lip, trying to hold himself together as the feelings of love and grief threatened to spill over. Pulling back slightly, he looked over Sirius' shoulder trying to locate where the familiar smell was coming from.

"Are those welsh cakes?"

Sirius' cheeks were a deep red now. "Um, yeah. I know it's not the same as your mum's and they're probably not very good, but I wanted you to still have them today and - Re I can get rid of them if you don't like them! I don't want to make you feel like I'm trying to...I don't know replace her, or - or intrude on your day with your mum - I just-"

"Sirius." Remus said firmly, gripping Sirius' hand in one of his own and bringing his other hand up to cup the back of his boyfriend's neck. "You are incredible."

Sirius let out a breath in clear relief and smiled shyly. "It's okay?"

"It's more than okay. I can't believe you did all this for me." Remus' voice broke and he couldn't help sniffling a little.

"Baby, stop saying that." Sirius said, his voice gentle. "I would do anything for you."

"Pads," Remus mumbled, unable to believe that this beautiful soul was his.

"I can't imagine how hard the last few months have been for you." Sirius said, his fingers moving to gently trace the daffodils on Remus' wrist. Remus felt tears start to spill down his cheeks, but this time he didn't try to hold them back. "I'm not going to pretend I understand Moons, but I am here for you. For whatever you need."

Remus took a shuddering breath, trying to calm down. "I just need you."

Sirius was looking at him with such tenderness and clear devotion in his eyes that Remus felt the tears start to fall faster. Sirius pulled him gently towards the bed, helping to remove his clothes and handing Remus one of his own soft t-shirts. Remus pulled it over his head, feeling instantly calmed by Sirius' scent enveloping him. He knew it was a wolf thing and usually he hated it, but today he couldn't bring himself to care and instead snuggled down happily in Sirius' bed, surrounded by his boyfriends familiar scent.

Sirius was quickly changing into a pair of comfy joggers and a hoodie before he slipped under the duvet to spoon up behind Remus.

Remus finally felt himself relax as Sirius' strong arm curled around him, pulling him back so they were pressed together from head to toe. Sirius buried his face in his neck, pressing gentle kisses to the skin there.

Sirius seemed to be trying to say something, Remus could feel him opening and closing his mouth his chin brushing Remus' shoulder as he floundered. Remus waited, brushing him thumb over the soft skin of Sirius' wrist and just relaxing into his hold.

Finally Sirius spoke, his voice soft and hesitant, "Dydd Gwyl Dewi Hapus."

Remus closed his eyes, fresh tears spilling down his cheeks and he gripped Sirius' hand tighter.

"Too much?" Sirius whispered nervously when Remus didn't say anything.

"You learned Welsh?" Remus finally asked, although it seemed thoroughly unimportant compared to how much every part of him was screaming that it absolutely loved and adored this man.

"Well, no," Sirius huffed a laugh. "I learned how to wish you happy St David's...the pronunciation was probably horrible."

"No it was good." Remus whispered, lifting Sirius hand and pressing a reverent kiss to it. He heard Sirius let out a breath of relief behind him and Remus just couldn't hold the words in any longer. "I love you Sirius Black."

Sirius froze for only about half a second in surprise before he spoke, his voice sure and steady as he said, "I love you too Moons."

It was the first time they'd said it to each other and Remus felt warmth bloom in his chest at hearing those words fall from Sirius' lips.

Despite everything, a smile pulled at the corners of Remus' mouth. "Yeah?"

"Yeah you idiot."

Remus linked his fingers with Sirius' that was laying almost protectively on his stomach. "That's good."

Sirius chuckled softly. "I'm glad you think so."

Remus smiled to himself and closed his eyes, feeling more content than he had for months. "She really liked you, you know."

"Hope?" Sirius asked and Remus hummed in confirmation. "I'm glad. I liked her too."

"She was so happy when I said we were together." Remus allowed himself to smile at the memory. "She said she'd known it all along and you always looked at me like a lovesick puppy."

He felt Sirius grin into his neck. "She wasn't wrong."

"Remember how we first got together?"

"How could I forget?" Sirius said, his voice amused now. "You cornered me after Potions - so romantic by the way - and stumbled through some explanation of finding my stunning good looks and charming personality too hard to resist before just shoving me up against a wall and kissing me until I was ready to drop to my knees for you."

Remus let out a surprised laugh, wriggling away just enough so he could turn over to face Sirius and press a soft kiss to his lips. "I guess that's one way to describe it. Well, Mum was the one who told me to go for it."

Sirius grinned at him cheekily, "Your mother told you to snog me so thoroughly that I wanted to blow you right there in the dungeons?"

Remus laughed again, feeling lighter than he had since his mother's death. "No Padfoot, she told me to stop pining and just tell you how I felt. I think she knew that it would end well."

"Smart woman."

Remus' smile softened. "Yeah, she was."

Sirius leaned in and brushed their lips together lightly at first, but deepened the kiss when Remus pulled him in closer. Their legs tangled beneath the sheets and Remus' hands threaded through Sirius' silky hair, tugging it gently. Sirius let out a soft moan, one leg coming up to rest on Remus' hip, bracketing him in in a way he knew made his boyfriend feel safe. Remus felt warm and content all over, trying to pull Sirius even closer as the other boy somehow managed to make the embrace passionate and gentle at the same time.

They were interrupted when the door burst open and James and Peter's voices, accompanied by someone who sounded like Lily, filtered into the room.

Sirius made to grab for the curtains around the bed looking at Remus with concern but Remus shook his head, smiling gently.

"I'm fine, don't worry."

Sirius looked at him for a moment more before smiling and dropping back down into the bed beside him leaving the curtains wide open to allow James to let out a cry of delight as he spotted them.

"The pups are here!"

"Pups?" Sirius said, raising an eyebrow at James. He spooned up behind Remus again, who had turned to wave at Peter and Lily.

"What's with all the flowers?" Peter said sitting on the edge of Remus' bed so he was facing the couple.

"It's St David's Day." Sirius said, making Remus smile and hold his hand tighter. "Wormy, those are Re's!"

Peter immediately dropped the welsh cake back onto the plate and looked at Remus apologetically.

"Sorry Moony."

Remus chuckled, "Don't be silly, we should all have one."

Peter grinned, passing the plate around. Remus pushed himself up against the headboard, curling his knees to his chest under the covers and pulling Sirius into his side. He felt himself relaxing, warm and wrapped up in layers that smelled like his boyfriend. His mate; his scent surrounding him and instantly making him feel safe.

Remus hated thinking of Sirius like that, like they were nothing more than animals, but sometimes he couldn't help it and right now he didn't have the energy to repress it.

"You two look cosy." Lily said, sitting cross-legged beside Peter and smiling at them as she bit into a welsh cake.

"We are."

"You okay Rem?" Her smile was soft and understanding and reminded him that she understood perfectly how painful it was to lose a parent.

"Yeah, I'm...you know. Getting there."

"One day at a time, yeah?" She reminded him, holding out the plate so he could take another cake.

"Yeah, something like that." He smiled, biting into the soft cake and almost moaning aloud, immediately turning to Sirius. "Since when were you this good at baking?"

Sirius just shrugged but he was blushing again. "I had some help from the house elves."

"You made these?" James looked at him with a completely disbelieving expression. "You're the worst cook!"

"I've been practicing and I think I've gotten pretty good thank you very much." Sirius said haughtily.

"When have you been practicing?" Remus asked and was surprised to see the blush deepen considerably.

"Um...the past few weeks. I wanted to make sure it was perfect for you."

Remus felt as if his heart was expanding in his chest. "You learned to cook for me?"

"I learned to bake for you, actually." Sirius corrected, ignoring the smirk James was sending him from across the room.

"I love you." Remus whispered, pulling Sirius in for a kiss, their lips pressing together softly.

They broke apart laughing at the catcalls and wolf whistles from James and Peter, Lily smiling fondly at them. James threw a sock at Sirius causing him to squeak in an entirely undignified manner and launch himself across the bed at James. He transformed halfway so it was a large black dog that leapt on top of James and a playful scuffle ensued.

Peter laughed at their antics and Lily rolled her eyes at her boyfriend, though she was smiling. Remus watched them, grinning when Padfoot seemed to finally admit defeat and leapt back up beside Remus, rubbing at his hand for pets and making Remus chuckle.

Sat here now surrounded by his favourite people all chattering happily and the warmth of Sirius by his side, Remus finally felt like he wasn't alone. He still had a family who loved him and supported him and who would be there for him no matter what. Until the very end.

**Author's Note:**

> St David is the patron saint of Wales and St David's Day falls on 1st March. I meant to post this yesterday but it was my birthday and having a birthday in lockdown meant I wasn't really in the mood to properly edit it! 
> 
> And yes the last line is my favourite from the books...I couldn't resist.
> 
> I hope it's okay, comments and kudos are treasured and appreciated always :D


End file.
